S'pore face Aussies, Kiwis in e-sports

Singapore will compete in the Fifa eNations Stay And Play Cup, an international e-sports Fifa20 tournament that is part of a global initiative between EA Sports and the world football governing body.

Professional e-sports player Amraan Gani from Team Flash and Tampines Rovers midfielder Joel Chew will represent Singapore at the tournament, which kicks off today.

The tournament will feature 53 Fifa member associations in the west, central and east regions.

Each team will be represented by a Fifa20 professional player and a representative who is either a professional footballer, ambassador or celebrity.

Singapore are in Group B of the east region with Australia and New Zealand.

The first match against Australia will be at 7pm today while they will take on New Zealand at the same time tomorrow.

Fans can watch the matches live on the Football Association of Singapore's Facebook page.

Amraan, who competed at the Fifa eWorld Cup Global Series Play-offs in 2018, said: "I've been working on my skills and my teammate is good at the game as well.

"I'm quietly confident that we can progress to the next round although the countries in our group are highly rated in Asia," added the 26-year-old.

Chew, who joined the Stags last year, has been playing the Fifa game more frequently since the 2016 edition was released.

The 20-year-old, who plays an average of seven hours a week, said he is "honoured and excited" at the opportunity "as not many people get the chance to do so".

The top two from the group will advance to the knockout semi-finals on Friday. If Singapore progress from their group, they will face the qualifiers from Group A, which comprises Japan, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.

The broadcast of the three regional finals on Saturday will also feature entertainment such as live music, community engagement, interviews and guest hosts.